Each week, over 18,000 radio listeners tune in to Aspen Public Radio to hear the news of the day –to be informed, nourished, inspired and entertained. This radio station is a critical public service, owned by this community, locally-staffed, editorially independent, and provided for free to everyone who lives, works, and comes to play in the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys.
It will continue to be, because of listeners like you.
Kicking off today, #GivingTuesday, and continuing through Friday, December 12, we’re looking to raise $100,000 from new and renewing members during this Year-End Membership Drive. Your philanthropic support will keep Aspen Public Radio on the air, pay our year-end bills after the loss of longstanding federal support, and help the station remain on track with the local reporting initiatives and mission-driven programming Aspen Public Radio has become known for –on the air, online, in collaboration with print partners, through regional and national public radio distribution, and alongside you at remarkable community events.
After President Trump issued an Executive Order on May 1 instructing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to prohibit both direct and indirect federal funding to National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Aspen Public Radio joined Colorado Public Radio, KSUT Public Radio, and NPR to defend our rights that make independent journalism possible.
October 1 marked the first day nationwide without any federal funding for public media, after the passage of the Rescissions Act of 2025, signed into law by President Trump on July 24, 2025. In response, Aspen Public Radio launched a Resiliency Fund, bringing critical attention to the station’s loss, in an effort to replace the $154,000 of Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding we will not be receiving in 2025, along with $210,000 we will no longer receive in 2026.
Aspen Public Radio is your community radio station, and it’s worth fighting for.
Last week, Aspen Public Radio sent out our 2025 Impact Report, celebrating the 1,034 members who make this station possible, along with the 8 journalism awards received by the Aspen Public Radio News team for work in 2024, 18 events and 16 live broadcasts we produced in 2024 and 2025, our remarkable partners in the “Ideas, Speakers & Lectures” initiative, and continued funding for our Arts & Culture Desk while also launching a Social Justice Desk, Women’s Desk, and Climate Desk to significantly increase the reporting capacity of our local newsroom.
As we look to the year ahead, we need your financial support to advance efforts to provide the highest-quality local news and information in Spanish, expand access to community conversations taking place in public spaces throughout the Roaring Fork Valley, plan for more public events including another Nonprofit Volunteer Fair and Backcountry Symposium, launch new mission-critical projects focused on emergency preparedness, and replace our radio broadcast tower on Smuggler Mountain.
Click here to make your 2025 year-end gift now!
As a thank you, when you donate during this 2025 Year-End Membership Drive you will receive:
- $100 (or $10/month): 2026 Birdnote Calendar
- $180 (or $15/month): NYT Digital Subscription (12-months; transferable)
- $365 (or $30/month): Odyssey Emergency NOAA Weather Radio
- $500 Resiliency Fund gift: “Keep America Public” tee
All donations of $100 or more will also be entered into our Year-End Membership Drive Giveaway for the chance to win:
- Half-Day Guided Flyfishing for Two with Aspen Outfitting Company
- “Family 4-Pack” of Recycled Aluminum Ski Poles from mountainflow, including two sets of adult poles and two sets of adjustable kids poles
- Osmia “Perfect Pair” Gift Set
- Two Tickets to Thunder River Theatre Company’s production of K2, courtesy of Alpine Bank (February 13-March 1, 2026)
- EcoFlight for Two
- Two One-Day Lift Tickets at Aspen Snowmass
Evergreen Members: We didn’t forget about you! One of each of these amazing prizes is available in a second drawing taking place on Friday, December 12, specifically for Aspen Public Radio Evergreen members, who have all been automatically entered to win. Good luck!
Want to double your chances? Give an additional gift, or become an Evergreen member during this Year-End Membership Drive to be entered into both giveaways for TWO chances to win!
Throughout the Aspen Public Radio pledge drives/campaigns and at other times during the year, Aspen Public Radio may hold giveaways and opportunities. Visit here for a full list of rules.